Ski boot shin pad

ABSTRACT

A shin pad for use in a ski boot is disclosed. The shin pad comprises a sheet of compressible material with a void, like a doughnut hole, in the middle. The shin pad is placed on the shin with the hole placed over an area of the shin which is to be protected from pressure and friction. The material of the pad covers an area of the shin surrounding the area to be protected.

BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Skiers and snow boarders experience a great deal of pressure andfriction on the anterior portion of the lower leg while skiing or snowboarding. In order to effectuate turns and maintain balance, an activeskier or boarder is constantly and repeatedly changing position whileexerting varying degrees of forward pressure with the lower leg on theinner surface of the front upper portion of the boot. As body positionchanges, the leg is constantly shifting position within the boot. Thisresults in great pressure and friction between the shin and the boot.

During skiing and snow boarding, dynamic pressure is exerted by thelower leg against the inside front portion of the boot, and therebytransmitted from the boot through the binding and to the ski or snowboard. This pressure is necessary to make the ski or board turn andmaintain course effectively. Ski and snow board boots are typicallydesigned with an inner lining constructed of compressible material toprovide some padding against the unavoidable shock and friction imposedon the leg and foot. However, the liner of the boot cannot be so soft asto overly compromise the transmission of force from the leg, through theboot, the binding, and ultimately to the ski or board. This padding andshock absorption function of the inner liner is limited by need tomaintain sufficient rigidity to properly transmit force. Socks and othergarments may provide some additional layers of padding. However, forsome skiers and boarders, these garments provide only minimalprotection. After a few hours of activity, painful bruising and abrasionmay develop on the skin and anterior musculature in the shin area of thelower leg.

It is therefore desirable to provide additional protection againstpressure and friction on the anterior lower leg. Some skiers apply tape,band aids or mole skin to reduce abrasion but this provides only minimalrelief or no relief at all. Shin pads have been previously marketed forthis purpose. A typical shin pad in previous use is a simple sheet offoam padding that is placed between the shin and the boot. While suchfoam pads do provide added shock absorption, it has been discovered thata pad with a void in the material overlying a portion of the shinprovides drastically improved or complete relief from the pain ofbruising and abrasion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a shin pad.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shin pad.

FIG. 3 shows a shin placed on the shin of a skier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a shin pad for use inside a ski boot orsnow board boot. The shin pad is comprised of a sheet of compressiblematerial with a void, similar to a doughnut hole, in the material at ornear the center. The pad is placed on the shin so that the hole overliesthe area of the shin in which the skier desires to alleviate pain. Inthis fashion, the pad absorbs pressure in the surrounding area andeliminates some or all of the pressure directly to the area to beprotected. Some skiers, such as those with narrow lower legs or heavieror more aggressive skiers may gain added relief by stacking two shincushions together on one leg to provide a double thickness of padding.

The shin pad of the present invention may be constructed of any suitablematerial which is compressible to absorb pressure. It is also desirablethat the material be somewhat resilient so that it regains some of itsoriginal thickness when not under pressure. Different degrees ofabsorption may be achieved by using material of differentcompressibility. Examples of suitable materials include, but are notlimited to, closed cell foam, gel, neoprene or other soft rubber, andclosed air cells. In a preferred example, the shin pad is made ethylenevinyl acetate (EVA) foam. This material is readily available from manymanufacturers.

The shin pad may be shaped from a sheet of compressible material by anysuitable means, such as die cutting, laser cutting, or water jetcutting. A preferred method is die cutting and shin pads of the presentinvention have been produced by die cutting sheets of EVA foam inaccordance with well known manufacturing methods.

The shin pad may be any practical planar shape and size that providesadequate coverage of the leg and the area of the shin to be protected.The shape of the void in the central area may likewise be any practicalshape that permits the pad to cover the shin surrounding the protectedarea while leaving the protected area uncovered. In a preferredembodiment, the shin pad is substantially rectangular and the centralvoid is substantially rectangular or oval. The size of the shin pad andthe central hole may be any practical dimension that provides adequatecoverage of the leg and the area of the shin to be protected. The lengthand width of different shin pads may vary greatly to accommodate varyinglength and thickness of skiers' legs. A typical shin pad of practicaldimensions may be substantially rectangular having a length up to about175 millimeters and width up to about 90 millimeters, with the centralhole in material having a length up to about 120 millimeters and widthup to about 40 millimeters.

The present invention provides a shin pad comprising a planar sheet ofcompressible material having a shape defined by an outer perimeter andhaving a void in the material having a shape defined by an innerperimeter. In one embodiment, the width of the inner perimeter isbetween approximately 20-40 millimeters, the width of the outerperimeter is between approximately 70-90 millimeters, the length ofinner perimeter is between approximately 90-120 millimeters, and thelength of outer perimeter is between approximately 135-175 millimeters.In a preferred embodiment, the width of the inner perimeter isapproximately 30 millimeters, the width of the outer perimeter is 81millimeters, the length of inner perimeter is approximately 105millimeters, and the length of outer perimeter is approximately 155millimeters. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the shin padcomprises a substantially rectangular planar sheet of compressiblematerial having a width of approximately 81 millimeters and length ofapproximately 155 millimeters, and having a void in central portion ofmaterial with a width of approximately 30 millimeters and length ofapproximately 105 millimeters. The shin pad may be made fromcompressible material selected from the group consisting of closed cellfoam, gel, neoprene, soft rubber, and closed air cells. In a preferredembodiment, the shin pad the compressible material comprises EVA foam.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a shin pad of the present invention. Theshin pad is a sheet of compressible material that has a void (11)located centrally which is surrounded by a first lateral section (12), asecond lateral section (13) an upper section (14) and a lower section(15) which together form a perimeter around the void. The shin pad shownin FIG. 1 is substantially rectangular, but may be any other suitableplanar shape with a centrally located void in the material.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the shin pad shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a shin pad placed on the shin of a skier. The void isplaced over the area of the shin which is desired to be protected frombruising and abrasion. By placing the shin pad in this fashion, thepressure exerted by the boot is distributed and absorbed by the lateral(12, 13), upper (14) and lower (15) sections of the pad. Pressure isthus significantly reduced or eliminated on that area of the shin whichis exposed within the void. When pressure is relatively low, there mayactually be no contact between the boot and the shin within the void,thus completely eliminating pressure and abrasion. This effect may beenhanced by using material with a lesser degree of compressibility.Additionally, as noted, two or more shin pads may be stacked together toincrease the thickness of padding.

The present invention has been described herein with reference tovarious embodiments, but the invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed, and is intended to encompass other embodiments which may becovered by the claims.

1. A shin pad consisting essentially of a planar sheet of compressiblematerial having a shape defined by an outer perimeter and having a voidin the material having a shape defined by an inner perimeter. 2.(canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. A shin pad consisting essentially of asubstantially rectangular planar sheet of compressible material having awidth of approximately 81 millimeters and length of approximately 155millimeter, and having a void in central portion of material with awidth of approximately 30 millimeters and length of approximately 105millimeters.
 5. A shin pad of claim 4, wherein the compressible materialis selected from the group consisting of closed cell foam, gel,neoprene, soft rubber, and closed air cells.
 6. A shin pad of claim 5,wherein the compressible material comprises EVA foam.
 7. A shin pad ofclaim 1, wherein the inner perimeter has a width between approximately20-40 millimeters and a length between approximately 90-20 millimeters,and the outer perimeter has a width between approximately 70-90millimeters and a length between approximately 135-175 millimeters.
 8. Ashin pad of claim 7, wherein the inner perimeter has a width betweenapproximately 30 millimeters and a length between approximately 105millimeters, and the outer perimeter has a width between approximately81 millimeters and a length between approximately 155 millimeters.